LTV Shareholders, Note Holders Object to Deal With Union

CLEVELAND – Committees representing LTV Corp. shareholders and note holders have objected to a tentative agreement between the steel maker and the United Steelworkers of America.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge plans to review the agreement Monday in Youngstown.

LTV, which filed for bankruptcy court protection from creditors in December, has endorsed the agreement negotiated by the union and LTV's unsecured creditors.

The agreement calls for the Steelworkers to receive LTV stock and profit sharing as well as a second seat on the board of directors when the company reorganizes its finances.

The objections filed Friday by shareholder and note-holder committees focused on those stock ownership and corporate governance issues.

Lawrence Spieth, regional director of Dimensional Fund Advisors, LTV's second-largest institutional investor, said he agreed to sit on the shareholder committee with the goal of protecting investor interests against bond or note holders, whose claims get higher priority.

John Duray, a Steelworkers spokesman, said corporate governance issues "have routinely been features of Steelworker labor agreements for decades. Because they also happen to be part of the bankruptcy process does not preclude their inclusion in the labor agreement."